ringlock

Okay, just to clear up a few points... The climbers had plenty of equipment, including warm gear, compasses, maps and a GPS in addition to the MLUs. They did not believe they could rely on the MLU instead of their judgment, but given prior climbing accidents this year on Hood they decided to bring them. They were aware of the weather forecast, but they did what many of us have done before--decided to be optimists. They stayed the night in snow caves at Illumination before descending. In the morning, they followed a compass reading taken the night before when it was clear, but in the whiteout didn't realize they'd overshot the Palmer. You know how it is--you can't even see the lift towers much less the terrain. Visibility was so low 3 of them slipped in to White River Canyon before they knew what happened. The other 5 weren't able to find them, called in, and were instructed to build a snow cave. Two of the 3 were banged up. One had hit her head in the fall and was initially showing signs of concussion, so after trying for about 40 minutes to continue, they made the decision to seek shelter. Also, the canyon walls above them were too corniced and icy for them to ascend directly with single axes. So, they called in and from that point had to stay in one location. We're glad they're okay and grateful for the efforts of the rescuers and Timberline Lodge. We hope that this information is helpful--don't believe half the stuff you've been hearing from the media and online. And, next time, hopefully those of us sitting on the couch will have learned something from their experiences. And once again, the dog is great in the mountains. It's definitely not the place for most dogs, but she's okay and knows how to handle herself in harsh conditions. We'll post her mountaineering CV later.

Rescuers have located the 3 climbers, they are all okay. And BTW that is a fifth class dog.

Latest we've heard, the search resumed at first light, but they have yet to reach the 3 lost climbers. Three SAR groups are said to be closing in on the climbers from different approaches. The climbers report by cell that they are chilly but fine. Gnarly weather out there, blowing and white.

There were 8 total climbers, who spent the night in a snow cave up by Illumination. 5 have been rescued. The other 3 have been in contact with searchers and reportedly are close to being reached.

There are 8 total: 5 found, 3 located and supposedly close to being reached by SAR.